These Crusaders walked off the court for the last time the only way they knew how – as New York State Federation champions after beating Christ the King, 66-52, to win a second consecutive Class AA title.

The consensus New York State Player of the Year put in another sterling Federation performance, lifting the defending champions to a 67-55 win over Ossining in the ‘AA’ semifinals at the University of Albany’s SEFCU Arena.

The Crusaders begin their quest for a second consecutive Class AA title and third Federation title in a row after capturing the Class A crown in 2013. LuHi also won the ‘B’ Federation championship in 2011.

MSG Varsity 10 Best celebrates the incredible plays, moments and accomplishments delivered by high school student athletes from around the Tri-State. Find out who made our countdown, and can be called one of MSG Varsity 10 Best!

See everything that's happening on MSG Varsity in 3 minutes with news, highlights, interviews and social media updates. Watch MSGV 360 each day to see what we're talking about and who we're covering. Hosted by Amanda Pugliese.

After Kellenberg fell to Nazareth 68-59 in the CHSAA Class A state championship game Saturday night at Archbishop Molloy, she is most proud of helping make the name on the front of her jersey more familiar.

And even though the Pierson-Bridgehampton girls basketball team could not complete its climb out of a 21-point second-half hole, a 45-35 loss to Pine Plains on Friday in the state Southeast Regional Class C championship game encouraged a team that started one junior and four sophomores.

In a rematch of last year’s Long Island Class A championship game, defending champion Harborfields takes on North Shore in the Long Island Class A girls basketball final Friday at 5 p.m. from LIU-Post on #MSGV_Live.

MSG Varsity 10 Best celebrates the incredible plays, moments and accomplishments delivered by high school student athletes from around the Tri-State. Find out who made our countdown, and can be called one of MSG Varsity 10 Best!

The Friars graduated five key seniors from its state title team. In fact, those five players accounted for all but one point in the state final. Those who spent most of that game sitting on the bench are now the ones defending the title. And Tuesday night, they took another step toward doing just that.

Pisani's "regular layup" with 21.4 seconds remaining helped seal the Frogs' 36-32 win over Hampton Bays in the Long Island Class B championship game at LIU Post. Pisani had 12 points and five assists while guiding Carle Place to its first Long Island girls basketball championship since 1992.

Ehrhardt's intuition propelled Kellenberg to a 47-46 win over St. Joseph Sea at St. John Villa Academy in Staten Island. The victory sends the squad to a semifinal matchup with Buffalo Cardinal O'Hara, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.

See, she is an actual gamer, as in someone who spends a lot of time playing video games. When she puts down the controller and picks up a basketball, she tries to replicate the moves she made while playing NBA 2K15 on Xbox.

The senior stumbles before landing hard on her back. Gampero quickly hops up to the cheers of teammates. Those plays, she insisted, are her favorite part of the game and she jogs up court with a smile.

Mei-Lyn Bautista’s season has been disjointed and out of sorts to say the least because of injuries. The George Washington-bound point guard knew she couldn’t personally be that way after an uncharacteristic first half if her St. Mary’s team was going to going to bring home as second straight diocesan title.

The recipe for success for the Cougars was hard-nosed man-to-man defense and against the county’s stingiest defense statistically – Huntington only conceded 35.6 points per game – there was terrific ball movement and balanced scoring.

All five high school basketball games scheduled for Tuesday night have been postponed. The Nassau-Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association postponed its championship championship games at Farmingdale State College, citing deteriorating weather and the safety of its players and fans.

It’s Round 3 between the top two CHSAA girls basketball programs on Long Island as St. Mary’s meets St. Anthony’s for the NSCHSAA Class AA title from Farmingdale State College Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. on #MSGV_Live.

Werbitsky's play in the Suffolk Class A girls basketball final was as sweet as her favorite dessert Saturday at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue. The senior forward pulled down 12 rebounds, most on putbacks, in the Tornadoes' 45-29 win over Glenn.

he Tornadoes, who advanced to the county final for the sixth straight season, will try to capture a third consecutive county championship when they take on Glenn at 6 p.m. on Saturday at St. Joseph's College.

With the Chiefs (16-1) leading by a healthy margin, Batista was granted a breather. As soon as a timeout was called, she was the first one off the bench, ready to give high-fives and words of encouragement to her teammates.

Come the second quarter, Aponte scored all of her 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting, including two three-pointers. That was a big part of No. 1 Baldwin's separation in its 83-44 win over No. 4 Mepham (14-5) in Saturday night's Nassau Class AA basketball semifinal.

Right before halftime in North Shore's quarterfinal matchup against Division on Tuesday, the Vikings held their breath when Alexandra Cantwell dropped to the floor after a hard foul, clutching her right knee.

Hansen is the youngest player on a young team. She starts with Briana Brady, the only senior, and three sophomores: Kiera Ramaliu, Taylor Tripptree and Brooke Pikiell, the daughter of Stony Brook men's basketball coach Steve Pikiell.

Connetquot (7-11) didn't qualify for the playoffs, but made progress after winning just three games last season. Led by Torres, who is averaging 18 points a game, and Jenna Phillips, who can score from the outside or the post, the Thunderbirds hope to take another step next season.

The senior needed only four points for 1,000 and she reached the milestone on a three-pointer with 3:16 left in the first quarter. She had seven points, eight rebounds and five assists and sat in the second half as host North Shore beat Valley Stream North, 59-10, in Nassau Conference A-IV.

Guirantes has scored at least 40 points in a game nine times in her career, the latest being a 47-point, 23-rebound performance in a 67-47 win over visiting Hauppauge on Thursday. It was one point shy of her career high of 48, which she has done twice.

See everything that's happening on MSG Varsity in 3 minutes with news, highlights, interviews and social media updates. Watch MSGV 360 each day to see what we're talking about and who we're covering. Hosted by Amanda Pugliese.

Two of the best teams in the Tri-State will represent their respective states in the Coaches Choice NY-NJ Showcase. Watch No. 1 Long Island Lutheran take on No. 10 St. Rose LIVE on MSGVarsity.com at 11 a.m.

The two dominated the defensive end of the court Friday night, leading Massapequa to a 48-28 lead over Freeport in a matchup of the top two girls basketball teams in Conference AA-I. "Block Party" is one of many defense-themed nicknames the duo have been called as teammates.

Agustus, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, had a pair of blocks in the final minute of overtime as the Gaels celebrated their biggest victory of the season, especially considering they did it without star point guard Mei-Lyn Bautista, who is out with a severely sprained ankle.

Binghamton University commit McKayla Hernandez scored a team high 16 points to help St. Mary's defeat Francis Lewis 35-32 at the Rose Classic Super Jam Tournament held at Nazareth High School on Saturday.

With Boogie Brozoski suffering from the flu, Long Island Lutheran got a lift from Erin Storck, Nani Redford, Taylor Byrne and anyone else who stepped on the court in handing Paterson Eastside its first loss, 53-45, at the New Year's Resolution

Parlato filled the stat sheet as she usually does, scoring 20 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and swatting nine shots. She sealed it with a putback and a free throw that gave the Warriors a 42-31 lead with 1:22 remaining.

She stepped to the free-throw line needing two points and made both, giving her 45 points and 1,000 in her five-season career. A career day led to a milestone day, which combined to form a memorable day.

Glenn's Tanna Mohammed said games like Monday's 72-36 win over East Hampton are pleasant because the starters "get to chill" and watch from the bench. Mohammed and her teammates did just that with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Archbishop Molloy continued its hot start to the 2014-15 season by receiving 14 points from Kaitlyn Mahon in a 55-45 victory over defending N.Y. State Federation champions Long Island Lutheran Sunday at Francis Lewis High School.

Sewanhaka's 5-11 junior center has picked up a few low-post techniques from watching Tim Duncan, and modeled a short jumper and hook shot after Brook Lopez. Teammates marvel at her ever-expanding arsenal.

Star point guard Lauren "Boogie" Brozoski suffered what she later called a "severe [left] ankle sprain" in the fourth quarter. Lutheran coach Rich Slater and head athletic trainer Heather Saladino surrounded the Michigan-bound senior as she writhed in pain before her father, Owen Brozoski, carried her off the court and into the trainer's room.

So the player who averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds last season, who rose above defenders and drained pull-up mid-range jumpers, who hit 37 percent from three-point land, who sliced through traffic to create her own shot . . . well, now she has even more strength and stamina.

Their fantasy scenario fell through, but the dream came true for Brozoski and Jones. Each signed a national letter of intent Wednesday, headlining a slew of Long Island athletes who made their college commitments official.

Michigan-bound guard scored 23 points, including eight in a row down the stretch, to lead Nassau to a 75-62 win over Suffolk in the fifth annual Alzheimer’s All-Star Basketball Classic at Long Island Lutheran Sunday.

County bragging rights are on the line as some of the best girls and boys basketball players on Long Island compete in the fifth annual Alzheimer’s All-Star Basketball Classic at Long Island Lutheran Sunday on #MSGV_Live.

Eight MSG Varsity/Newsday All-Long Island first-team selections are among the 52 players who will participate in Sunday’s fifth Alzheimer’s All-Star Basketball Classic at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville.